Adventure — No Votes?

Part two of the recap of my Twitter poll on entrepreneurship and I’m here to talk about the Rodney Dangerfield of the options: a sense of adventure, which got no votes at all.

Entrepreneurs have a deep desire for adventure, they “view life as one big adventure” as Richard Branson says in his recent autobiography, Finding My Virginity. The formation and operation of a business is an adreline rush that fulfills their adventurous spirit.

The list of adventurous activities is long when it comes to entrepreneurs such as Ted Turner’s sailing, which won him the America’s Cup, Richard Branson’s many world records, Larry Ellison’s sailing and America’s Cup victory (entrepreneur’s adventures cost more than yours and mine).

This sense of adventure, however, is crucial to the entrepreneur’s success but don’t confuse the adventurous spirit for recklessness. As I pointed out in yesterday’s post on risk (the most popular answer in the poll), entrepreneurs do everything they can to minimize risk.

I don’t sail but I do have a boat and in 2016, having upgraded to a boat large enough to make the trip, I embarked on a journey from NJ to Baltimore, MD. It was an adventure for me and fit the entrepreneur’s balance between adventure and caution as it was well thought out and planned, in other words, it wasn’t risky.

Each entrepreneur will have a different balance between the three main traits, curiosity, a sense of adventure, and a willingness to take risk, but I have found that all three are always present.

What are your thoughts on the role adventure plays in entrepreneurship? What is your adventure? What do you do that others might find too risky?